The oak plant around Heinz Eichinger, Amy 9×19 and Reini Rossmann hosted the Survival Rally 2024 in the beautiful Pielach Valley in August, with the team from Ranger Magazine and Militär Aktuell in the thick of it. In Part 1 we reported on the base camp and our equipment, in part 2 about the “Hunting” station, followed by part 3 and the perception exercise. Part 4 described the obstacle course and Part 5 a casualty transport. As in Part 6 the cooling waters finally beckoned. The last station really heated us up again.
Catering and other worries along the way
After losing time both on the descent and while waitingand at the same time overheating and injuries had to be avoided at all costs, we came to the conclusion in a few words that our goal was to successfully complete the tour. Success here meant: We had to stay healthy, not achieve top performances. So a quick dip in the Pielach, T-shirt and boonie pulled through, head, pulse and lower legs cooled down and on we went!
However, it wasn’t an easy ride to the finish. First, we had to climb up the mountain on the wide forest roads in extremely unfriendly heat – mostly without the possibility of finding any shade. We noticed two things in particular: Markings for orientation were no longer to be found here, in contrast to the passages in the forest. We had to resist repeated impulses to switch to shady hiking trails – they could not be clearly identified on the map. So we had to stay on the monotonous road.
The second point concerned the snacks in between. Not that we were hungry, but on long marches or when you’re exerting yourself, every little bite, especially of wild fruit, is like an energy bar for the psyche. However, we didn’t find any of this directly along the route of the entire rally, which was very different to what we are used to in the local forest this year. Out of habit, we really missed out on the small vitamin and motivational gifts. In order not to lose any time, however, we didn’t stray from the path. So two or three buds of mugwort had to suffice. If, like us, you catch parts of the plant that are very close to flowering, you will be well distracted from the spicy-bitter explosion of flavor for the next hour. And no, this is not a recommendation …
The rationing of water also had clear consequences in the form of headaches and a high pulse rate. We also had to weigh up several times how to interpret the chronic pain that was now very present again in one of us. If we had the slightest suspicion that this would put our health at risk, we would have stopped immediately. Nevertheless, everything remained on “Go!” and so once again it was time to bite through, albeit not without worry.
Ranger tip: Discuss any worries as well as acute and chronic complaints right from the start, i.e. before the decision to go on a tour is made. Alternative plans, which are advisable for every trip anyway, and agreements on how far people want to go form the framework within which you can operate. This gave us, as a team, a sense of security and confidence, as we were able to roughly define our limits. This prevented us from being overwhelmed by vanity or a misunderstanding of collegiality.
(No) fire in the forest
Somewhat exhausted, Station 6 finally came into view. Whatever we were supposed to do here – we were allowed to do it in the shade. This and the fact that the goal was now really within reach, without any pain preventing us from moving forward, gave us confidence, but only allowed us to think about the goal, not the task at hand. We didn’t manage to get out of the tunnel vision quickly enough, which unfortunately cost us a lot of points in the end.
And yet – on the face of it – it wasn’t that difficult: with a simple block of wood from the DIY store, a knife and the ignition steel provided, a fire was to be lit and maneuvered safely into the bush box set up, where it would burn for at least a few seconds.
For us, it was embarrassingly only enough to glow in the time pressure. Why? Apart from the wrong focus (on the finish line), we clearly lacked practice. This was always limited to a well-placed tinder. Small feather sticks from narrow branches are enough to start a fire. In this task, however, the block did not necessarily correspond to the personal “ideal dimensions” and beautiful “feathers” had to be cut out much deeper.
If you don’t adapt, you lose – a very clear result, but one that we no longer struggled with that day, because our companion at the station, Felix from High Ready (-> High Ready founder Christian in an interview), showed us after the miserable failure how really beautiful feather sticks can look when carved out of such a block. Knowing how! We couldn’t muster up the dedication for such a carving under time pressure, but we admired those who still managed it at the end of the course.
Ranger tip: Being able to recognize and name mistakes is the basis of learning. A good teacher can provide additional motivation and point the way to solving the problem. Those who fail can only move forward if they also look ahead.
The last meters
Once again, navigation presented us with a small challenge – should we go up a steep path to get to the meadow at Base Camp faster? But it wasn’t just experience that prevented us from attempting a time-consuming and energy-intensive ascent. Even at the end of the rally, we still lacked the confidence to navigate one hundred percent correctly with the map – the scale did not list some side paths and turns, so the risk of straying from the wide path was too high. And then there was Reini Rossmann himself, host and co-organizer of the Survival Rally, who roared towards us in his pickup and shouted words of motivation rather than correction – well, then we were probably heading in the right direction.
Two turns later, we had actually made it. A warm welcome from the organizers and the other participants. We, one of us overheated, the other still with aching joints, were glad to have made it and happy to have been there.
Conclusion
Even if the result on paper is disappointing for us personally – we ended up in eleventh place – and our efforts to keep to the time phases went unrewarded from this perspective, because the time scoring was omitted due to an emergency for reasons of fairness for everyone involvedwe learned a lot from this high level of stress. It wasn’t just the fact that we were able to gain experience in situations that you can hardly get yourself into that was decisive. The perfectly instructed and experienced station supervisors, who imparted knowledge after completing the tasks, were essential for the high level of learning success, which nevertheless led to a positive experience, especially when success was not achieved.
As with many other participants – we are still in contact with some of them after the Survival Rally – the failure at this or that station or the realization that strength or fitness are not at the level we would like them to be also led to a sustained effort to improve. This effect and the knowledge that you can complement and help each other wonderfully as a team, even when health worries or a high stress level are gnawing at your nerves, were the great gift we received by completing the course.
From our point of view, the format has been a complete success, and we are already eagerly awaiting – hopefully – subsequent rallies. In any case, we are proudly wearing the exclusive patch for participating in the first Survival Rally.
Here you can read all parts of the Survival Rally 2024 experience report again.
